NORTH CENTRAL TEXAS COLLEGE COURSE SYLLABUS

 

Course Title:	Elementary Statistical Methods
Course Prefix & Number:	MATH 1342	Section Number:	830	Semester/Year:	Spring 2020
Semester Credit Hours:	3	Lecture Hours:	48	Lab Hours:
Course Description (NCTC Catalog): Collection, analysis, presentation and interpretation of data, and probability. Analysis includes descriptive statistics, correlation and regression, confidence intervals and hypothesis testing. Use of appropriate technology is recommended.
Course Prerequisite(s): Meet TSI college-readiness standard for Elementary Statistics; or equivalent
Required or Recommended Course Materials:   Text Fundamentals of Statistics: Informed Decisions Using Data 5th edition, Michael Sullivan III,2018,Pearson MyStatLab(e-text included in MyStatLab)  Note:  A physical copy of the text is not required. Purchase of online MyStatLab access is required.   MyStatLab Access Note:  MyStatLab is accessed through Canvas by clicking on the “MyLab and Mastering” tab on the left.  Access to MyStatLab may be purchased online when signing into MyStatLab for the first time, or an access code may be purchased at the NCTC bookstore.  If purchasing a code from the bookstore, be sure that you buy a the code for “MyStatLab”  (not “MyMathLab”). If you are unable to pay for the MyStatLab access in the first week you may access the course materials and homework with “Temporary Access.”   Calculator with statistical capabilities TI-30X IIS or TI-30XS Multiview or TI 83/84 are all good choices.   Computer Access with Microsoft Excel If you do not have Microsoft Excel on your personal computer, you may want to consider coming to an NCTC campus or a public library to complete the Excel assignments.   Phone calculators will not be allowed on exams.

 

INSTRUCTOR INFORMATION

Name of Instructor:	Ben Owens
Campus/Office Location:	Flower Mound 107
Office Hours:	Tuesday/Thursday: 8:00-10:00 ; 12:30-2:00 ; 3:30-5:30 Fridays: by appointment only Online office hours: TBD
Telephone Number:	940-498-6295
E-mail Address:	bowens@nctc.edu

STUDENT LEARNING OUTCOMES (From Academic Course Guide Manual/Workforce Education Course Manual/NCTC Catalog)

At the successful completion of this course the student will be able to:
1	Explain the use of data collection and statistics as tools to reach reasonable conclusions.
2	Recognize, examine, and interpret the basic principles of describing and presenting data.
3	Compute and interpret empirical and theoretical probabilities using the rules of probabilities and combinatorics.
4	Explain the role of probability in statistics.
5	Examine, analyze, and compare various sampling distributions for both discrete and continuous random variables.
6	Describe and compute confidence intervals.
7	Solve linear regression and correlation problems.
8	Perform hypothesis testing using statistical methods.

 

GRADING CRITERIA

# of Graded Course Elements	Graded Course Elements	Percentage or Point Values
34	Homework (MyStatLab)	5%
10	Quizzes (MyStatLab)	5%
15	Discussions (Canvas)	5%
10	Excel Assignments (Canvas)	15%
3	Tests	45%
1	Final Exam	25%

Grade Scale:   90 – 100% = A;   80 – 89% = B; 70 – 79% = C;  60 – 69% = D;  Below 60% = F

 

Assignment Descriptions

1.  Homework – MyStatLab

There are 34 Homework assignments in MyStatLab throughout the semester.  Each homework assignment covers one section of the text.  Each homework assignment has 10 questions, but some of those questions have multiple parts!  Each question in the homework is graded separately and you can attempt each question as many times as you would like without penalty using the “Similar Exercise” option.  The due dates for homework assignments can be found in MyStatLab.  You may complete homework assignments after the due date for a penalty.  The questions worked after the due date only earn 70% of the possible points for that question.

 

2.  Quizzes – MyStatLab

There are 10 quizzes in MyStatLab that are due throughout the semester.  The quiz for each chapter is due sometime between when the homework for that chapter is due and the test for the chapter is given.  Quizzes in MyStatLab are structured differently than homework assignments in that you must complete the entire quiz at once and then it is graded as a whole.  You can review your answers any time after completing a quiz.  There are not unlimited chances for each quiz, and the quizzes may be timed (to simulate a testing situation).   Quizzes completed after the due date are subject to a 30% penalty.  The quizzes are meant to serve as a stepping stone to help prepare you for the tests.  Quiz questions are similar to the homework, so they can be used as a good diagnostic test to see which topics you remember and which topics might require a little more work!

3. Discussions – Canvas

The online discussion questions are meant to give students a chance write about and comment on topics that are being covered in the text. Typically a discussion assignment is worth 10 points, where 6 points are given for a student’s original response to the prompt and 4 points are given for the student’s comments on others’ responses.  Discussion assignments work better when everyone participates early in the week – not right before the assignment is due.   The deadlines for discussion assignments are hard deadlines.  If you miss a discussion you will receive no credit for that assignment.

 

4.  Excel Assignments - Canvas

There are 13 Excel assignments throughout the semester.  These assignments are designed to be like a “lab” that you would have in a science class.  For example, if you take biology you do a lot of “book learning” in class, but then you get the “hands on experience” through the lab.  This is what the Excel assignments are meant to achieve.  Most of the assignments require that you submit a document that gives the results or a summary of the assignment and complete a quiz using the excel spreadsheet that you have created.  Excel assignments will be graded soon after they are due and then returned for corrections if needed.  You have one week after the due date to correct the Excel assignments for full credit.  After that the assignment will be closed.  So, if you are struggling with one of these assignments, don’t be afraid to turn in what you have so I can see where you are at and give feedback!

 

See “Assignment Descriptions” document on home page for more information on the different types of assignments. 

 

The Tests and Final Exam must be taken in person on an NCTC campus or approved testing location.

The tests may be taken at an NCTC Testing Center or on Saturday mornings in Corinth.  The NCTC Testing Centers are open Monday-Thursday during regular business hours and Friday mornings.  If you plan to take the test at an NCTC testing center you must contact the testing center on the campus of your choice and make an appointment for each test.  Here is the website for more information. https://www.nctc.edu/testing-center/index.html

 

Saturday testing is available from the Math Department and will be on the Corinth Campus from 10:00 – 12:00, Room TDB.  Saturday testing with the Math Department does not require an appointment.

If you would like to take the test at a different time/place, please refer to the instructions on the homepage.

 

Test 1 – Testing Center: Tues. 2/18 – Fri. 2/21 ; With Math Dept: Saturday, February 22^nd, 10:00-12:00

Test 2 – Testing Center: Tues. 3/24 – Fri. 3/27 ; With Math Dept: Saturday, March 28^th, 10:00-12:00

Test 3 – Testing Center: Tues. 4/21 – Fri. 4/24 ; With Math Dept: Saturday, April 25^th, 10:00-12:00

Final Exam – Testing Center: Mon. 5/11 – Wed. 5/13 ; With Math Dept: Wednesday night, May 13^th (exact time TBD)

 

Note: 

If you are taking the test on Saturday, no appointment is needed—just let the instructor know!  If you are taking the test at an NCTC testing center you must make an appointment at least 24 hours in advance!  I would recommend making the appointment at least a week in advance as space is limited.

COURSE SUBJECT OUTLINE (Major Assignments, Due Dates, and Grading Criteria)

 

	Topics / Sections from book	MyStatLab Homework	Assignments in Canvas
Week 1 1/20 – 1/26	Course Overview Statistics Basics (1.1) Observational Studies and Designed Experiments (1.2)	H1 – 1.1 H2 – 1.2	Week 1 Discussion Test 1 Scheduling Quiz
Week 2 1/27 – 2/2	Simple Random Sampling (1.3) Sampling Techniques(1.4) Bias in Sampling (1.5)	H3 – 1.3 H4 – 1.4 H5 – 1.5 Ch. 1 Quiz	Ch. 1 Discussion Gathering Information Excel Assignment #1 BLS #1
Week 3 2/3 – 2/9	Organizing Qualitative Data (2.1) Organizing Quantitative Data (2.2) Graphical Misrepresentation of Data (2.3)	H6 – 2.1 H7 – 2.2 H8 – 2.3 Ch. 2 Quiz	Ch. 2 Discussion Misleading Graphs   Excel Assignment #2 Graphs in Excel
Week 4 2/10 – 2/16	Measures of Central Tendency (3.1) Measures of Dispersion (3.2) Grouped Data (3.3)	H9 – 3.1 H10 – 3.2 H11 – 3.3	Ch. 3 Discussion What Type of Measure?   Excel Assignment #3 Histograms in Excel
Week 5 2/17 – 2/23   Test 1 is 2/18 - 2/22 Ch. 1,2,3.1,3.2	Measures of Position (3.4) Five Number Summary / Boxplots (3.5) Test 1 – Test may be taken from Feb. 18 – Feb. 21 in Testing Center or Saturday, Feb 22nd in Corinth.	H12 – 3.4 H13 – 3.5 Ch. 3 Quiz   Practice for Test 1 Quiz	Test 1 Study Discussion     Excel Assignment #4 Formulas in Excel
Week 6 2/24 – 3/1	Scatter Plots and Correlation (4.1) Least Squares Regression (4.2)	H14 – 4.1 H15 – 4.2 Ch. 4 Quiz	Ch. 4 Discussion What Association?   Excel Assignment #5 Correlation
Week 7 3/2 – 3/8	Probability Basics (5.1) Addition Rule and Complements (5.2) Multiplication Rule / Independence (5.3)	H16 – 5.1 H17 – 5.2 H18 – 5.3	Ch. 5 Discussion Interesting Probability Excel Assignment #6 Regression
Week 8 3/9-3/15	Conditional Probability (5.4) Counting Techniques (5.5) Probability Practice (5.6)	H19 – 5.4 H20 – 5.5 H21 – 5.6 Ch. 5 Quiz	Test 2 Study Discussion   Excel Assignment #7 Counting Techniques
SPRING BREAK!
Week 9 3/23-3/29   Test 2 is 3/24-3/28 Ch. 3, 4, 5	Discrete Random Variables (6.1) Binomial Distribution (6.2)   Test 2 – Test may be taken from Mar. 24 – Mar. 27 in Testing Center or Saturday, Mar 28th in Corinth	H22 – 6.1 H23 – 6.2 Ch. 6 Quiz   Practice for Test 2 Quiz (bonus)	Ch. 6 Discussion   Excel Assignment #8 Binomial Distribution Part 1
Week 10 3/30-4/5	Normal Distribution (7.1) Applications of Normal Distribution (7.2) Normal Approximation to the Binomial (7.4)	H24 – 7.1 H25 – 7.2 H26 – 7.4 Ch. 7 Quiz	Ch. 7 Discussion   Excel Assignment #9 Binomial Distribution Part 2
Week 11 4/6-4/12	Distribution of the Sample Mean (8.1) Distribution of the Sample Proportion (8.2)	H27 – 8.1 H28 – 8.2 Ch. 8 Quiz	Ch. 8 Discussion   Excel Assignment #10 Normal Distribution
Week 12 4/13-4/19	Confidence Intervals Estimating Population Proportion (9.1) Estimating Population Mean (9.2) Confidence Intervals (9.3)	H29 – 9.1 H30 – 9.2 H31 – 9.3   Ch. 9 Quiz	Ch. 9 Discussion   Excel Assignment #11 Sampling Distribution
Week 13 4/20-4/26 Test 3 is 4/21-4/25 Ch. 6,7,8,9	Hypothesis Tests Hypothesis Testing (10.1)   Test 3 – Test may be taken from Apr. 21 – Apr. 24 in Testing Center or Saturday, Apr. 25th in Corinth	H32 – 10.1   Practice for Test 3 Quiz (bonus)	Test 3 Study Discussion   Excel Assignment #12 Confidence Intervals Part 1
Week 14 4/27-5/3	Hypothesis Test for Pop. Proportion (10.2) Hypothesis Test for Population Mean (10.3)	H33 – 10.2 H34 – 10.3 Ch. 10 Quiz	Ch. 10 Discussion   Excel Assignment #13 Confidence Intervals Part 2
Week 15 5/4-5/10   Final Exam is 5/11-5/13 (All Chapters)	Review for Final Exam     Final Exam – May be taken from May 11 – May 13 in Testing Center or Wednesday, May 13th (evening) in Corinth	Practice for Final Exam Homework (not graded)	End of Semester Discussion

 

 

 

All students at NCTC are assigned a student email address, also known as Lion Pride email. Lion Pride email can be accessed on the NCTC home page by clicking on MyNCTC, then the link “Lion Pride Email” to the left. After clicking the Lion Pride Email link, the Microsoft Office 365 window will open.
1. Enter your NCTC student e-mail address. (for example, Smithj123456@student.nctc.edu)

2. Enter your password (your NCTC Student ID Number, either 7 or 9 numbers).

3. From the list of Microsoft icons, choose MAIL.

4. You will be asked to set your language and local time zone (Central Time). Your account is now activated.

 

**It is the student’s responsibility to activate and regularly monitor the assigned NCTC (Lion Pride) e-mail account. Important announcements and notifications from the Admissions office, Financial Aid, or other college staff will be sent via the Lion Pride student email system.

 

For communicating with classmates and instructors, students also have an option to communicate through Canvas. Canvas messaging is NOT the same as Lion Pride e-mail. Failure to read and/or receive NCTC e-mails (either in Lion Pride or in Canvas) is no excuse for not complying with any school policy. Be sure to regularly check BOTH the Lion Pride email as well as the Canvas inbox for important messages and information.

Regular and punctual attendance is expected of all students in all classes for which they have registered.  All absences are considered to be unauthorized unless the student is absent due to illness or emergencies.  It is the student’s responsibility to provide documentation as to the emergency for approval by the faculty member.  Approved college-sponsored activities are also excused absences.  The instructor is responsible for judging the validity of any reason given for an absence.  Valid reasons for absence, however, do not relieve the student of the responsibility for making up required work.  Students will not be allowed to make up an examination missed due to absence unless the absence is documented and excused by the instructor.  Student will be dropped from a class by the Registrar upon recommendation of the instructor who feels the student has been justifiably absent or tardy a sufficient number of times to preclude meeting the course’s objectives.    Persistent, unjustified absences from classes or laboratories will be considered sufficient cause for College officials to drop a student from the rolls of the College. From Board Policy FC (LOCAL)

Last day to withdraw from a 16-week course with a “W” is Friday, April 3, 2020.

 

MATH LAB Students who need help with any math class can visit the NCTC Mathematics Lab to receive assistance. No appointments are necessary. See the most current tutoring hours for all campuses at http://www.nctc.edu/student-services/student-success/tutoring/mathematics-lab.html.

The Office for Students with Disabilities (OSD) provides accommodations for students who have a documented disability. On the Corinth Campus, go to room 170 or call 940-498-6207. On the Gainesville Campus, go to room 110 or call 940-668-4209.  Students on the Bowie, Graham, Flower Mound, and online campuses should call 940-498-6207.

North Central Texas College is committed to both the spirit and letter of federal equal opportunity legislation, including the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) of 1990, ADA Amendments Act of 2009, and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (P.L. 93-112  https://www.nctc.edu/catalog/student-services/office-students-with-disabilities.html  

 

CORE CURRICULUM FOUNDATIONAL COMPONENT AREA (For classes in the Core)________     

o         Communication

x        Mathematics              

o         Life and Physical Science

o         Language, Philosophy & Culture

o         Creative Arts

o         American History

 

o         Government/Political Science

o         Social and Behavioral Sciences

o         Component Area Option

 

x          Critical Thinking

x          Communication

x          Empirical and Quantitative

 

o           Teamwork

o           Personal Responsibility

o           Social Responsibility